Seamstress, Designer, Scenic Artist

One of the last assignments in my Scenic Painting class was to create a rock wall. Students were encouraged to find images of the types of rocks we would like to recreate as a painting. I chose beach rocks, as I love the smooth, round shapes and the range of colors that can be found in them.

 

After covering a 4'x6' flat with muslin, I laid down a priming layer by lightly scumbling a light tan with the warm slop, which at the time was a light peach color. After spattering with a gray and a light brown, I freehand cartooned my rock shapes. Next I started to build up the rocky texture by sponging a wide variety of colors into the rock shapes. To smooth out my rocks a bit, I watered down some of the colors I used for the base sponging and did a wash over each rock shape. After adding highlights and shadows, I finally called my rock wall complete!